How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 159

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Survive as the Second Son of a Magic Family (159)

It’s similar to what was tucked in the bouquet I received earlier.

An awkward combination of three words.

“They’re all unnatural sentences.”

“That’s right. ‘Sitting Bokus avoids danger’… What could this mean?”

“…I wonder. ‘Join cookies this way’, ‘Of the more cunning and suspicious diocese’.”

Even reading it again, it’s an extremely strange combination.

This appeared throughout the Catacombs this morning. If it were just words, I would have passed by without much thought, but since such nonsensical sentences were written, I took pictures just in case.

“Today, you say.”

I muttered that while staring intently at the photo.

Letters neatly written in paint on a bright wall.

The form looks exactly like print, so it seems impossible to identify the person by handwriting.

“I’m sorry I can’t be of help, but I don’t really know what these phrases are either.”

“I see. It can’t be helped. It might just be graffiti by a drunk person…”

“That’s probably not it. I just received such a strange sentence myself.”

Marian Baum’s eyebrows rose.

“You received one?”

“There was a sentence ‘Audienz dubioses schockiertes’ written in a bouquet someone left behind.”

“…Audienz? Someone familiar with English?”

I silently agreed with Marian Baum’s muttering.

Usually ‘audience’ is written as Publikum, not Audienz.

The words after that aren’t the form a foreigner who just started learning the language would commonly use, but anyway, it makes sense to agree on this part.

“I thought so too. I wondered if they used Audience meaning Publikum. After all, a letter received at a performance hall should appropriately contain the word audience rather than meeting.”

“That’s right.”

“But seeing this phrase written in the Catacombs… my thoughts have changed a bit.”

It’s not a mistake or ignorance.

The person who wrote this is intentionally placing strange words.

Marian Baum, who had been lost in thought for a while, lowered his voice.

“I feel the same way. Considering the note the Count received, this doesn’t seem like simple graffiti.”

He shook his head while resting his arm on the chair beside him.

“Well, this is troublesome. I really just asked on the off chance, but this is going to be another long story…”

“For now, I’ll check if such reports are coming into Bavaria.”

“Yes. But looking at the note sent to the Count, it seems like the people who did this wrote phrases according to the situation, so we should quickly find a Frenchman named Bokus and tell him to sit down. Haha!”

I didn’t laugh at his pointless joke.

Anyway, if it’s really tailored to the situation, it could be a warning sentence of sorts.

Of course, I don’t know what kind of warning the sentence ‘the audience was shocked’ could be.

‘Join cookies this way’ is the same, and whether ‘the diocese is suspicious’ refers to the Pleroma Sect or the actual Continental Sect is unclear.

Especially depending on which diocese the last sentence refers to, everything from whether the person who wrote this sentence is on our side or not gets divided.

‘Is there a reason for Pleroma to openly warn that ‘the Continental Sect is suspicious’? The gain seems quite small compared to the risk.’

If it’s not that, but someone warning that ‘the Pleroma Sect is planning something strange’, that makes more sense.

But it’s concerning that the informant didn’t contact us directly, and it’s also concerning that this was sent to Lucas, not Nicolaus.

I looked around the cafe lost in thought and asked.

“How has Pleroma been since that day?”

“They’re not doing anything. Vice Chairman Anton Dracher was even prepared to mobilize all forces, but surprisingly, nothing happened.”

“I see. That’s fortunate.”

That’s good information.

It means that erasing their memories and implanting false memories is still being maintained.

Anyway, we’ll need to confirm if such phenomena appear more throughout the Empire to be certain.

We might be overreacting to phrases that sound like a drunk person’s nonsense, but it’s not difficult to find out if more such nonsense was written, so it’s fine.

“If more are discovered in the Catacombs, I’ll send a letter to the Count’s office. Now then, I should tell you the first story.”

I nodded.

I can’t even guess how what I experienced differs from their experiments.

“The Count said that touching a rampage’s core takes you into their inner self. As a result of our experiments, entering the inner self is correct. Even reaching the rampage state was exactly the same. If the Count hadn’t warned us, dozens would have already been sacrificed.”

“I see.”

“But there was one different point. The Count said you entered the ‘victim’s’ inner self, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“How curious. We didn’t experience that. When contaminated together with the victim’s core, I was trapped in my own inner self, not entering that victim’s inner self.”

“…?”

But I entered Adelbert’s inner self?

And in his body, no less.

“The labyrinth is originally like that. You don’t see others’ memories, but your own trauma. Of course, with our technology, we can extract it and share it.”

Marian Baum shrugged his shoulders with a proud face.

I’ve known this since falling into the space made from Leo’s memories before.

More than that, it’s a new term.

“Isn’t labyrinth a maze?”

“That’s right. It’s the abyss of abysses. We express the inner self that causes a rampage’s anguish that way.”

It’s unfamiliar to hear words I’ve only read in Greek mythology here, but I understand what concept it is.

“But here’s the problem. Even if you turn memories into a shared space, you can only observe, not intervene. But the Count said you could enter the victim’s body and control them. No, you were sucked into another person’s space without even extracting the space outside in the first place. How was that possible?”

“…”

I’d like to know that too.

When I didn’t answer, Marian Baum waved his hand.

“Of course, as the Count said, the result of touching the core and dying together in a rampage is the same. Pleroma has advanced the drug one step further. So the difference in process isn’t a big problem.”

“That’s right.”

Still, I’m personally curious.

Isn’t that why Marian Baum is sitting in front of me?

‘More than that…’

Why wasn’t Narke surprised even after knowing I had become Adelbert?

Of course, he’s someone who doesn’t show big emotional changes and just smiles every day, so it’s not strange.

“Why can’t you intervene even if you turn memories into a shared space?”

“Because being able to freely manipulate the world is a privilege that belongs to the world’s creator. It’s easy if we think of our world. Even what we think are our choices are actually all His will, aren’t they?”

This person also talks like a religious person.

Anyway, that’s not what’s important right now.

“I’ve entered shared memories in the Catacombs before. There, I moved freely and changed the development of the memory.”

“You changed it?”

Marian Baum shook his head as if he didn’t understand.

But I wasn’t confused.

‘I get it.’

When you turn it into a shared space, you become an observer, but if you manipulate the world owner’s brain in that situation, you can gain will. In the end, this is a matter of sequence.

I—though I don’t know why I could enter someone else’s inner self, but anyway—was sucked into Adelbert’s inside, and since it wasn’t a shared space, instead of becoming an observer, I became him?

‘…No, the opposite is more natural.’

Everyone said they saw their own trauma after being contaminated with Vitriol. That’s actually correct.

It’s closer to me becoming Adelbert and seeing Adelbert’s labyrinth.

Then the problem is why I became Adelbert in the first place.

Anyway, since it’s hard to answer this now, I should tell them how to change from observer to participant.

I organized my thoughts and said casually.

“If the memory owner gives free will, you could interact with that world. Just like God gave us free will.”

“Ahahaha! That makes sense.”

“I’m not joking. Try manipulating the memory owner’s brain with mental intervention drugs later.”

Marian Baum’s face suddenly became serious.

“…Huh?”

“Please try it and let me know.”

“That’s an idea worth trying. I’ll give it a shot and let you know. In any case, your case is a peculiar one that can’t be reproduced no matter how many times we experiment. Please let me know if there are any changes.”

“Understood.”

Marian Baum took out a pen and scribbled down various notes.

After that, he asked questions about the Catacombs and Pleroma for quite a while, and I also gathered useful information through our Q&A session.

When we had filled about a page of paper, Marian Baum asked.

“Do you have any plans to attack Pleroma first?”

“Since we’ve postponed even the plans we had prepared in advance, there are no government-level plans to attack Pleroma yet.”

“Well, we’re already short-handed just recovering and treating the contaminated areas. There was even news about the new drug recently.”

No matter how much it could cause emotional disturbance, there was no intention to hide information from the citizens, so a few days before the second test, they reported the fact that rampage now leads to death.

Since Pleroma’s new drug, the Empire has been doubling its budget and manpower to defend against rampages, so with already insufficient personnel and resources, there’s no capacity to attack Pleroma.

To attack, we’d have to charge in alone like before, but that has its limitations too.

Marian Baum, who had been silently staring at the paper for a while, clicked his tongue.

“So, don’t you plan to continue acting?”

“Acting? I have to since I’m in the Drama Club.”

“Not that, I mean with our theater troupe.”

“…”

How can I do that now…

“My face has become somewhat known, so it won’t work.”

“The public probably doesn’t remember your face that precisely, right? Or how about performing in the Catacombs? That acting just now was too good for me to keep to myself.”

“Are you saying the acting is too good to keep to yourself, or the cultural dissonance as an old human is too good to keep to yourself?”

“Hahahaha! Ah~ unfortunately, that doesn’t work on me.”

He laughed heartily and then gazed out the window, lost in thought.

“Each actor has their own color. Acting is about layering the character’s color on top of that to create harmony. But in your acting, only the character’s color shows through. Don’t you hear that often?”

“…”

I did hear it often.

Not here, but in reality.

People seem to have similar eyes for talent.

“That’s not unconditionally good, but actors who completely erase themselves and immerse are rare, and I’d like such an actor to be one of my people. The offer is sincere, so if you ever feel inclined toward acting, please let me know anytime.”

Marian Baum’s eyes were serious.

He was always passionate about theater, so it made sense.

“Understood.”

“And please come to the Catacombs too. Everyone will welcome you.”

“If it’s okay for me to go, I’ll do that.”

“You should help investigate which side to give the cookies to.”

Marian Baum laughed with a playful tone.

It was still a joke with no answer at all, but I could see he was trying to make my visit comfortable, so I just smiled.

“I should. I’ll come soon.”

* * *

The arts festival still wasn’t over.

And I was openly drinking alcohol on the dormitory rooftop.

“What’s the deal with the school selling alcohol at booths?”

“It’s beer, so isn’t it okay? I was going to buy some in advance, but Leo said to just buy and drink at school, so I waited and this is how it turned out.”

Cheringen smiled brightly as he drank.

The Student Council allowed alcohol today, though I wonder what they were thinking. Of course, only wine and beer under 10% that appeared in school meals were allowed, but even so, it was quite surprising. It wasn’t allowed at the last festival.

‘Come to think of it, that bastard Elias went out to have fun without even asking why the festival was moved up when I told him to ask.’

Does he do the opposite of everything I say? I should ask Leo directly myself.

I looked around the table and ate the sauerkraut we brought as snacks.

‘This is light for an after-party.’

Actually, that’s good.

With six people, I was thinking 500,000 won minimum, but everyone ate less than I expected and we handled everything with food sold on campus, so the table wasn’t heavy.

I looked at my still half-full glass and asked.

“Do you guys like alcohol?”

“Of course…”

“I like it.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to one side.

Ainsiedel from Class 1, who had kept his mouth shut the whole time, answered decisively.

While everyone was slightly flustered and speechless, Cheringen asked with a laugh.

“I never knew that. What kind of alcohol do you like?”

“Just everything. I originally heard that alcohol was absolutely not allowed in school, but this is unexpected. Interesting.”

“Usually it’s not allowed… Has it been like this since you were at the 3rd Education Institute?”

“Ah.”

Philip snorted slightly at my words.

“Neither you nor him graduated from the 3rd Education Institute. Right.”

“Haha, judging by usual behavior, Philip is the one who acts like he’s attending school for the first time, regardless of the 3rd Education Institute or whatever.”

Cheringen quickly cut off the conversation.

It made sense for him to act that way.

As is typical of private schools called prestigious, students who came up through the escalator system from the same foundation had strong solidarity.

Cheringen shut Philip down before he could get cocky over something useless.

‘Bastard…’

How childish. Listening to his true feelings come out when he’s getting tipsy, this guy really has a twisted core. It’s just pitiful.

I threw out a necessary question, partly to change the subject.

“Have you guys seen any strange writing around school?”

“Huh? Strange writing?”

“Where is it?”

They haven’t seen it, I guess.

Still, I need to keep watch for a while.

“Never mind. Let me know if you see any.”

“Lucas must be drunk…”

“No.”

When I cut off Melvin’s words sharply, Cheringen laughed and changed the topic.

“Ah, our entire team advancing to the third round – at this rate, everyone will make it into the final 18, right? I don’t know what the school was thinking when they formed the teams, but I want to see you all through to the end. Let’s do well until the very end.”

He doesn’t know what the school was thinking when forming teams – this guy also thinks the school wouldn’t come out this easily.

Just as Cheringen’s gentle smile was about to create a touching atmosphere, Ainsiedel spoke up again.

“Guys.”

At his monotone voice, everyone’s gaze turned to him again.

“The week I trained with you all was enjoyable.”

“…”

Why is this guy suddenly acting like this?

Like when he told me before, ‘I called you out because I wanted to become friends with you,’ I can’t tell if he lacks social skills or is just being honest. It seems that way because his timing is slightly off and his tone is somewhat solemn.

Cheringen answered with a smile.

“Me too, Haike.”

“M-me too…! You were really good. Next time, you and Lucas are on the same team, right?”

“Right.”

Ainsiedel looked at me and smiled.

It was the first emotional change I’d seen when he was with other friends.

“Lucas, let’s do well on the next team too.”

A smile appeared on his expressionless face, and he finally looked somewhat human.

I quietly looked at him and answered briefly.

“Yeah.”

* * *

The last people remaining on the rooftop were just me and Ainsiedel.

Because Ainsiedel had held me back. He really kept pouring alcohol into his stomach continuously.

The Student Council had definitely limited the number of purchases per person, but this guy was somehow using magic to keep refilling his glass with alcohol.

‘How does he even know such useless magic.’

He’s like someone who studied magic just to drink alcohol.

I tried to keep some distance, but since we have to stick together for two weeks anyway because of the third exam, there’s no point in avoiding him.

Just in case, I brought artifacts connected to Elias and Leo, so I can put aside worries about safety for now.

As Class 1’s Ainsiedel emptied his glass again and tried to cast magic on it, I let out a hollow laugh and stopped him.

“Stop drinking… You’ll upset your stomach.”

“Really?”

“So why did you hold me back? I need to go do what I have to do now.”

“Really…?”

He muttered in a subtly lowered voice.

‘What the hell is this really.’

Does this bastard really want to become friends with me?

And yet he won’t give me even 1 point of favorability?

‘Does he have some ulterior motive.’

I already have more than enough to worry about because of Adelbert and Elias’s rampage incident.

And that strange message too.

I should go investigate it now, but since there’s a high possibility it’s some kind of warning, I can’t let my guard down.

On top of that, having this Nth generation descendant of the Einsiedel Family acting like this just gives me a headache.

“Why do you want to become friends with me?”

I asked a question that might sound somewhat out of the blue.

But I have to address this.

His favorability went from -2 to 0 points. That was entirely thanks to my trait. He hasn’t given me a single point outside of the trait.

With only 0 points, he thinks he wants to become friends with me? As I thought before, 0 points is just like air, just one of 27 classmates.

“I don’t know.”

Ainsiedel rolled his eyes as if he really didn’t know, lost in thought.

“I feel like we’re going to see each other for a long time.”

“…”

I looked at his face.

His expressionless face was looking down at the campus.

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

I stayed silent for a while before opening my mouth.

“Haike. Is there a mage with white hair among your ancestors?”

“If it’s white, wouldn’t that be someone from Elias’s family?”

“Only he has white hair, the rest are all blonde.”

“Really? Everyone in our family has dark hair too. My grandmother had black hair when she was young, and my uncle and mom both have the same dark blonde hair as me.”

Definitely, they don’t look alike at all.

That Ainsiedel, I mean. That Ainsiedel has white hair even whiter than Elias’s, and his facial features are completely different from Heike Einsiedel here.

Maybe that Ainsiedel was using a fake surname.

Should I try to find out why he’s impossible to romance? Within safe limits, that is.

“Haike.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I come visit your house?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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